Question
The given statement is followed by some courses of action. Assuming the statement to be true, decide the correct option.
Statement:
There has been a significant drop in the water level in the lakes supplying water to the city.
Courses of action:
I. The water supply authority should impose a partial cut in supply to tackle the situation.
II. The government should appeal to all the residents through mass media for minimal use of water.
III. The government should ban the water supply in lower areas.
Official answer and solution
- Official answer
- A
- From
- Official GATE 2015 answer key
Solution
Evaluate which proposed government courses of action are reasonable, balanced, and effective in mitigating a city water shortage.
Statement: There has been a significant drop in the water level in the lakes supplying water to the city.
Evaluation of courses of action:
- Course I ('impose a partial cut in supply to tackle the situation'): Imposing a planned, partial cut rations existing reserves equitably to prevent complete depletion. This is a sound and standard administrative mitigation measure. (Follows)
- Course II ('appeal to all the residents through mass media for minimal use of water'): Encouraging conservation and curbing non-essential water usage through public campaigns helps extend available reserves without causing undue hardship. (Follows)
- Course III ('ban the water supply in lower areas'): Banning water completely in selected geographic areas is discriminatory, disproportionate, and unfeasible. (Does not follow)
Therefore, Statements I and II follow (option A).
A
Accepting Statement III as a legitimate conservation method, ignoring its arbitrary and discriminatory nature.
The answer is the one in the official GATE answer key. The solution is this site's own explanation.
Source
- Paper
- GATE 2015 Computer Science and Information Technology (CS) Session 1
- Question
- 8 of 65, printed as GA Q.8
- Section
- General Aptitude
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